England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of play – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
